Sixth grade students across Papillion La Vista Community Schools are experiencing their curriculum in an entirely new way this fall, as outdoor education initiatives transform natural spaces into dynamic classrooms. The district's outdoor learning program integrates seamlessly with multiple areas of the sixth grade curriculum, providing students with hands-on experiences that deepen their understanding of scientific concepts and data analysis.

A new addition to the outdoor education program this year allows students to observe bees and flowers in the school garden, directly connecting to their science curriculum on pollinators and flower anatomy. Thanks to an unusually late freeze this season, flowers continued blooming well into October, giving all schools the opportunity to study these important ecological relationships in real time. Students examine the intricate structures of flowers and observe pollinator behavior, bringing textbook concepts to life through direct observation and interaction with living organisms.

The aquatics module represents another crucial component of the outdoor curriculum, with students collecting water samples from the pond for microscopic analysis back in their classrooms. Each school carefully records their pond data, creating a comprehensive weeks-long collection of information that students can chart and analyze. This systematic approach to data collection teaches students important scientific methodology while building a valuable long-term dataset. In future years, sixth grade students will be able to compare their findings with previous cohorts, enabling years-long observation of changes and consistencies in the pond ecosystem.

These outdoor education activities create a rich learning environment that extends far beyond the initial field experience. Students continue their investigation and analysis back in the classroom, developing critical thinking skills as they interpret data, identify patterns, and draw conclusions based on their own observations. The district's commitment to hands-on, experiential learning ensures that students develop both scientific knowledge and the practical skills needed to understand and appreciate the natural world around them.